Pueblo woman recalls when puppy was thrown at her car

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- "It was squealing because it was hurt," recalled Amanda Belcher. "He hit my car hard!"

Sunday morning, Belcher was in her car with her daughter when a puppy was tossed at her car.

"It was really scary because I didn't know what was going on," Belcher said.

Belcher says she was driving home around 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning with her daughter after leaving a friend's home. The mother says she wasn't feeling well and wanted to get back to her apartment.

However, her vehicle ran out of gas on the 400 block of Santa Fe Ave. Soon after, Belcher was approached by a man begging them for help.

"He had something in his hands," said Belcher. "He kept trying to put it towards us asking us to take it saying, 'help me!'"

When Belcher and her young daughter would not get out of the car, the man threw the dog.

"He was five feet in front of my car, then he threw [the dog] at my car," recalled Belcher. "It hit the roof of my car, rolled down the windshield off the trunk and started running across the street."

Belcher was able to flag down a passing vehicle and got someone to call police. Officers arrived on a disturbance call soon after and found a man running around only in his boxer briefs. He told officers he had recently tried meth for the first time.

According to Pueblo police, that man is 35-year old Edgar Zamora. He now faces a Class 1 Municipal Animal Abuse offense, punishable up to a year in jail and a $1000 fine. The punishment is entirely up to a municipal judge.

After the traumatic event, the puppy was retrieved by Pueblo police officers and brought to the local shelter by animal control.

"I think this puppy was in a little bit of shock, a lot had obviously happened with him," said Lindsey Vigna, the Assistant Director of Animal Law Enforcement with the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region. "Our first priority was to make sure he got examined by a veterinary professional and make sure he got the care that he needed."

They believe the puppy is seven weeks old and is some sort of lab mix, although the breed is not clear yet.

The shelter says the dog, which has not been named yet, is doing great and has no major health concerns at this time.

However, Zamora could potentially re-obtain ownership of the puppy if he pays citations directed by the judge and proves he is capable of taking care of the animal. HSPPR says there is little chance of that.

"Even if that individual comes forward, there are a lot of penalties that go along with the court process," said Vigna. "A judge would have to tell us to give this dog back. At this point, that's not going to happen."

For the shelter, their number one agenda is to make sure the puppy is safe and healthy. Once the six-day stray period is over, the puppy can be adopted by a family or owner with an approved background. However, for the time being, he is not available for adoption.

So far, the pup seems to be in high demand. Some viewers have reached out to ask if the puppy is available for adoption, and several people have already gone to the shelter asking to adopt.

If there is a lot of demand for the puppy, Vigna says they will most likely hold a special adoption lottery process to see who will get to adopt the young puppy.